Projected display shared workspaces

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for creating a shared workspace where images may be shared between projected displays. In one embodiment, electronic devices each may include a projector that produces a projected display and a camera that detects gestures made with respect to the projected displays. The electronic devices may interpret gestures on the projected displays to identify image sharing commands for sharing images between the projected displays. The electronic devices may be connected through a communication link that allows the electronic devices to share image data for producing images on any of the projected displays included within the shared workspace.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and,more particularly to electronic devices with projected displays that maybe in communication with one another to form a shared workspace.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Consumers frequently store many types of data on electronic devices,such as cellular telephones, portable media players, laptop computers,and personal data assistants. For example, consumers may storephotographs, movies, presentations, messages, documents, databases, andspreadsheets on electronic devices. Due to the increasing portability ofelectronic devices, consumers frequently share data stored on electronicdevices with other people. Many electronic devices include displayscreens that allow a consumer to display the data and allow viewing ofthe data by other people. However, to facilitate portability, thesedisplay screens may be small, which may inhibit viewing by larger groupsof people. Further, to facilitate viewing on the display screen, theelectronic device may be transferred between viewers, which may beinconvenient.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices that maybe connected to one another over one or more communication links toproduce a shared projected workspace. In accordance with certainembodiments, each electronic device may include a projector that may beused to produce a projected display. Two or more projected displays,each from a separate electronic device, may be displayed proximate oradjacent to one another to produce the shared projected workspace.Images displayed on one of the projected displays within the sharedworkspace may be transferred and/or copied to another projected displaywithin the shared workspace. According to certain embodiments, theelectronic devices may include a graphical user interface (GUI) fortransferring images between the projected displays. The electronicdevices each also may include a camera that detects user gestures on theprojected display. In these embodiments, a user may perform a gesture totransfer images between the projected displays.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of exemplary components of an electronicdevice that may be employed to produce a shared workspace, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a computer in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shared workspace system that includesone or more of the electronic devices of FIG. 1, in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the system of FIG. 3 illustrating a gesturefor sharing images within a shared workspace, in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the system of FIG. 3 illustrating anothergesture for sharing images within a shared workspace, in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the system of FIG. 3 illustrating a unifieddisplay mode for a shared workspace, in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a front view of another embodiment of a shared workspacesystem, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a GUI screen that may be employed to assignelectronic device positions within the system of FIG. 7, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a GUI screen that may be employed to selectimages for display on the shared workspace, in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a GUI screen that may be employed to transferimages between projected displays within the system of FIG. 7, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a front view of an embodiment of a projected display of FIG.7 that facilitates gestures for sharing images within a sharedworkspace, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a front view of another embodiment of a projected display ofFIG. 7 that facilitate gestures for sharing images within a sharedworkspace, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of methods for sharing images within ashared workspace, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a shared workspacesystem, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of methods for sharing images within ashared workspace, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

The present disclosure is directed to electronic devices and systemsthat may be employed to create a shared workspace. The shared workspacemay include two or more projected displays, each generated by a separateelectronic device. Images may be transferred between the projecteddisplays within the shared workspace. For example, the electronicdevices may communicate with each other over a communication link thatallows data for images to be transferred between the electronic devicesfor display on different projected displays within the shared workspace.In certain embodiments, the electronic devices may communicate directlywith one another. However, in other embodiments, the electronic devicesmay communicate through an intermediary device, such as a server.

The electronic devices may include projectors for producing theprojected displays, as well as cameras for detecting gestures made withrespect to the projected displays. According to certain embodiments, theelectronic devices may include a library of gestures that correspond toimage sharing commands. For example, different gestures may representdifferent image sharing commands, such as an image transfer command formoving an image from one projected display to another projected displayand an image copy command for displaying a copy of an image on oneprojected display on another projected display. To share images betweenprojected displays, a user may perform a gesture with respect to theprojected displays. The camera for the electronic device producing thatprojected display may detect the gesture, and in turn, the electronicdevice may interpret the gesture and perform the associated imagesharing command.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electronic device 10that may be employed to produce a shared workspace. Electronic device 10may be any type of electronic device that is capable of displayingprojected images and recognizing gestures through a camera. Forinstance, electronic device 10 may be a media player, a mobile phone, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a personal dataorganizer, a workstation, or the like. According to certain embodiments,electronic device 10 may be a portable electronic device, such as amodel of an iPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino,Calif. In other embodiments, electronic device 10 may be a desktop orlaptop computer, including a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®,iMac®, Mac® Mini, or Mac Pro®, also available from Apple Inc. In furtherembodiments, electronic device 10 may include other models and/or typesof electronic devices employing cameras and projectors.

As shown in FIG. 1, electronic device 10 may include various internaland/or external components that contribute to the function of device 10.The various functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 may include hardwareelements (including circuitry), software elements (including computercode stored on a computer-readable medium), or a combination of bothhardware and software elements. It should further be noted that FIG. 1is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended toillustrate, but not limit, the types of components that may be presentin electronic device 10.

Electronic device 10 includes a display 12 that may be used to displayimage data, which may include stored image data (e.g., picture or videofiles stored in electronic device 10) and streamed image data (e.g.,images received over a network), as well as live captured image data(e.g., photos or video taken using the electronic device 10). Display 12also may display various images generated by electronic device 10,including a GUI for an operating system or other application. The GUImay include various layers, windows, screens, templates, or othergraphical elements that may be displayed in all, or a portion, ofdisplay 12. Display 12 may be any suitable display such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), plasma display, or an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display, for example.

According to certain embodiments, display 12 may be provided inconjunction with a touchscreen 14 that may function as part of a controlinterface for device 10. Touchscreen 14 may be positioned in front of,or behind, display 12 and may be used to select graphical elements shownon display 12. Further, in certain embodiments, touchscreen 14 may beused to move images between projected displays of the shared workspaceand/or to set parameters of the shared workspace, such as relativepositions of electronic devices included within the shared workspace.Touchscreen 14 may employ any suitable type of touchscreen technologysuch as resistive, capacitive, infrared, surface acoustic wave,electromagnetic, or near field imaging. Furthermore, touchscreen 14 mayemploy single point or multipoint sensing.

Display 12 also may operate in conjunction with a projector 16. Althoughshown as a separate component, in other embodiments, projector 16 may bean integral part of display 12. Further, in certain embodiments,projector 16 may be removably attached to electronic device 10. Forexample, projector 16 may clip to an external surface of electronicdevice 10. In these embodiments, projector 16 may be connected toelectronic device 10 through an I/O port 18 or through a wirelessconnection. Projector 16 may be any suitable type of projector, such asa holographic laser projector, a liquid crystal display (LCD) projector,a digital light processing (DLP) projector, a liquid crystal on silicon(LCOS) projector, or a light emitting diode (LED) projector, amongothers.

I/O ports 18 may include ports configured to connect to a variety ofexternal devices, such as a power source, headset or headphones, orother electronic devices such as computers, printers, projectors,external displays, modems, docking stations, and so forth. I/O ports 18may support any interface type, such as a universal serial bus (USB)port, a video port, a serial connection port, an IEEE-1394 port, anEthernet or modem port, and external S-ATA port, and/or an AC/DC powerconnection port, among others.

An I/O controller 20 may provide the infrastructure for exchanging databetween a processor 22 and input/output devices connected through I/Oports 18, as well as other input/output devices, such as display 12,touchscreen 14, and projector 16. I/O controller 20 may contain one ormore integrated circuits and may be integrated with processor 22 or mayexist as a separate component.

Processor 22 may include one or more processors that provide theprocessing capability to execute the operating system, programs, userand application interfaces, and any other functions of electronic device10. Processor 22 may include one or more microprocessors and/or relatedchip sets. For example, processor 22 may include “general purpose”microprocessors, a combination of general and special purposemicroprocessors, instruction set processors, graphics processors, videoprocessors, related chips sets, and/or special purpose microprocessors.Processor 22 also may include on board memory for caching purposes.

Information, such as programs and/or instructions, used by processor 22may be located within storage 24. Storage 24 may store a variety ofinformation and may be used for various purposes. For example, storage24 may store firmware for electronic device 10 (such as a basicinput/output instruction or operating system instructions), variousprograms, applications, or routines executed on electronic device 10,user interface functions, processor functions, and so forth. Accordingto certain embodiments, storage 24 may store a program enablingestablishment of a shared workspace and/or control of a shared workspaceusing electronic device 10. In addition, storage 24 may be used forbuffering or caching during operation of electronic device 10.

Storage 24 may include any suitable manufacture that includes one ormore tangible, computer-readable media. For example, storage 24 mayinclude a volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), and/or asa non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM). The componentsmay further include other forms of computer-readable media, such asnon-volatile storage, for persistent storage of data and/orinstructions. The non-volatile storage may include flash memory, a harddrive, or any other optical, magnetic, and/or solid-state storage media.The non-volatile storage may be used to store firmware, data files,software, wireless connection information, and any other suitable data.

Electronic device 10 also may include one or more input devices 26 thatmay be actuated by a user to provide user input or feedback to processor22. For instance, input devices 26 may be configured to control one ormore functions of electronic device 10, applications running onelectronic device 10, and/or any interfaces or devices connected to orused by electronic device 10. User interaction with input devices 26,such as to interact with a user or application interface displayed ondisplay 12, may generate electrical signals indicative of the userinput. These input signals may be routed through I/O controller 20 viasuitable pathways, such as an input hub or bus, to processor 22 forfurther processing.

By way of example, input devices 26 may include buttons, sliders,switches, control pads, keys, knobs, scroll wheels, keyboards, mice,touchpads, and so forth, or some combination thereof. In one embodiment,input devices 26 may allow a user to navigate a GUI displayed on display12 to control settings for a shared workspace. Input devices 26 may beused in conjunction with, or independently of, touchscreen 14 to selectinputs for electronic device 10.

One or more communication interfaces 28 may provide connectivitychannels for receiving and transmitting information and/or forconnecting to other electronic devices to establish a shared workspace.Communication interface 28 may represent, for example, one or morenetwork interface cards (NIC) or a network controller. Communicationinterface 28 may include a local area network (LAN) interface forconnecting to a wired Ethernet-based network and/or a wireless LAN, suchas an IEEE 802.11x wireless network.

Communication interface 28 also may include a wide area network (WAN)interface that permits connection to the Internet via a cellular datanetwork, such as the Enhanced Data rates for GMS Evolution (EDGE)network or a 3G or 4G network. Further, communication interface 28 mayinclude a personal area network (PAN) interface for connecting to aBluetooth® network, an IEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee) network, or an ultrawideband network (UWB). Communication interface 28 may include anynumber and combination of network interfaces. As will be appreciated,communication interface 28 may employ one or more protocols, such as theHigh-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) protocol, for rapidlydownloading data over a network. Additionally, communication interface28 may allow electronic device 10 to receive a software upgrade thatenables electronic device 10 to establish and/or control a sharedworkspace in accordance with certain embodiments.

In certain embodiments, electronic device 10 may use a deviceidentification networking protocol to establish a connection withanother electronic device through communication interface 28. Forexample, both electronic device 10 and the other electronic device maybroadcast identification information using Internet protocol (IP). Theelectronic devices may then use the identification information toestablish a network connection, such as a PAN connection or a LANconnection, between the devices. By way of example, the deviceidentification protocol may be Bonjour® by Apple Inc.

Communication interface 28 may further include a near fieldcommunication (NFC) device. The NFC device may allow for close rangecommunication at relatively low data rates (424 kb/s), and may complywith standards such as ISO 18092 or ISO 21481, or it may allow for closerange communication at relatively high data rates (560 Mbps), and maycomply with the TransferJet® protocol. In certain embodiments, the NFCdevice may be used to receive information, such as the service setidentifier (SSID), channel, and encryption key, used to connect throughanother communication interface, such as a WAN, LAN, or PAN interface.

Electronic device 10 also includes one or more cameras 30 that may beused to acquire still and/or moving images, such as digital photographsor videos. Camera 30 may be any suitable camera, such as a digital videocamera employing a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, among others.According to certain embodiments, camera 30 may be an iSight® cameraavailable from Apple Inc.

Camera 30 may be designed to detect gestures in the form of shadowsand/or silhouettes shown on the projected display created by projector16. For example, camera 30 may be designed to detect spatial patterns,such as shadows, produced on the projected display. Camera 30 also maybe designed to detect movement of an object, such as hand, that producesgestures within the viewing area of camera 30. For example, rather than,or in addition to, detecting shadows on the projected display, camera 30may detect the movement of the object itself Camera 30 also may bedesigned to detect x and y spatial directions along the plane of theprojected display to determine a direction of the gesture. Further,where two or more cameras are included, cameras 30 may operate inconjunction with one another along the plane of the projected display todetect the z spatial direction, in addition to the x and y spatialdirections. For example, the motion of an object with respect to aprojected display may be detected in the x and y spatial directions withone camera, or in the x, y, and z spatial directions with two or morecameras.

Camera 30 may operate in conjunction with image processing softwareincluded within storage 24 to interpret gestures for sharing or movingimages between projected displays of the shared workspace. For example,storage 24 may include a library of gestures 32 that may correlate toimage sharing commands that allow a user to move images betweendifferent projected displays of the shared workspace. Image processingsoftware may interpret gestures viewed through camera 30 to determineimage sharing commands represented by the detected gestures. Processor22 may then use one or more programs encoded on storage 24 to executethe image sharing commands. For example, camera 30 may detect a gesturethat corresponds to an image sharing command to move an image from thecurrent projected display to another projected display. The imageprocessing software may interpret the gesture viewed by camera 30 toidentify the image sharing command. Processor 22 may then retrieve andtransmit data corresponding to the image to an electronic device for theother projected display to allow the other electronic device to displaythe image on its projected display.

Electronic device 10 also includes a positioning device 34 designed todetermine the geographic location of electronic device 10. For example,positioning device 34 may be a GPS system, such as an Assisted GPS(A-GPS) system. In another example, positioning device 34 may include adevice that triangulates wireless access points to determine a location.In yet another example, positioning device 34 may include a radiofrequency transmitter that operates in conjunction with a radiofrequency mapping system through communication interface 28 to determinea location. According to certain embodiments, processor 22 may use thelocation information from positioning device 34 to determine therelative positions of electronic devices connected to form the sharedworkspace.

Electronic device 10 may be powered by a power source 35 that mayinclude one or more batteries and, or alternatively, an AC power source,such as provided by an electrical outlet. In certain embodiments,electronic device 10 may include an integrated power source that mayinclude one or more batteries, such as a Li-Ion battery. In certainembodiments, a proprietary connection I/O port 18 may be used to connectelectronic device 10 to a power source for recharging the battery.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of an electronic device 10A in the form of alaptop computer. As shown in FIG. 2, electronic device 10A includes ahousing 36A that supports and protects interior components, such asprocessors, circuitry, and controllers, among others. Housing 36A alsoallows access to user input devices 26A, such as a keypad, touchpad, andbuttons, that may be used to interact with electronic device 10A. Forexample, user input devices 26A may be manipulated by a user to operatea GUI and/or applications running on electronic device 10A. In certainembodiments, input devices 26A may be manipulated by a user to controlproperties of a shared workspace produced by electronic device 10A.

Electronic device 10A also may include various (I/O) ports 18A thatallow connection of electronic device 10A to external devices, such as apower source, printer, network, or other electronic device. For example,electronic device 10A may be connected to an external projector 16Athrough a cable 37 that connects projector 16A to an I/O port 18A ofelectronic device 10A. Projector 16A may be used to produce a projecteddisplay from electronic device 10A that may form part of a sharedworkspace. Electronic device 10A also includes camera 30A that may beused to detect gestures on the projected display for controlling theshared workspace. According to certain embodiments, camera 30A mayinclude one or more cameras pointed in multiple directions. For example,camera 30A may be directed towards the front of display 12A to functionas a webcam and may be directed towards the back of display 12A todetect gestures for controlling a shared workspace.

FIG. 3 depicts a system 38 of electronic devices 10B and 10C that may beemployed to produce a shared workspace 40. As shown, electronic device10B represents a multifunctional media player that may be used to playvideos, take pictures, and make phone calls, and electronic device 10Crepresents a tablet computer. However, in other embodiments, electronicdevices 10B and 10C may be any suitable type of electronic device, suchas a portable media player, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, orthe like. Moreover, in certain embodiments, electronic devices 10B and10C may be the same or different type of electronic device.

Each electronic device 10B and 10C includes a projector 16B and 16C,respectively. In the depicted embodiment, electronic device 10B includesan integrated projector 16B, which may be coupled to electronic device10B through an I/O port 18 (FIG. 1). According to certain embodiments,projector 16B may clip or snap onto housing 36B of electronic device10B. However, in other embodiments, projector 16B may be disposed withinhousing 36B. Further, in certain embodiments, projector 16B may be anexternal device connected to an I/O port 18 (FIG. 1) of electronicdevice 10B through a connector, such as a cable. In the depictedembodiment, electronic device 10C includes an integral projector 16Cdisposed within housing 36C. However, in other embodiments, projector16C may be disposed outside of housing 36C.

Electronic devices 10B and 10C may be placed on a surface 42, such as atable, to produce shared workspace 40 on a surface 44, such as a wall,screen, or whiteboard, among others. In other embodiments, electronicdevices 10B and 10C may be held by a user or mounted on a tripod. Toproduce shared workspace 40, each projector 16B and 16C may produce aprojected display 48B and 48C. Projected displays 48B and 48C may beproduced within the same location to allow a user to interact with bothprojected displays 48B and 48C. According to certain embodiments, theprojected displays 48B and 48C may be disposed adjacent to each other toform a unified display. However, in other embodiments, the projecteddisplays 48B and 48C may be produced farther apart and/or on separatewalls of a location. Further, in certain embodiments, projected displays48B and 48C may be positioned above and below one another.

In one embodiment, each electronic device 10B and 10C includes an inputdevice 26B or 26C, and a display 12B or 12C with a touchscreen 14B or14C that may be used to display a GUI that enables a user to interactwith shared workspace 40. For example, through touchscreen 14B or 14C, auser may select images 50 and 52 to display on projected displays 48Band 48C. Images 50 and 52 may represent pictures, photographs, videofiles, audio files, application files, or the like. In another example,through touchscreen 14B or 14C, a user may select a graphical element toinitiate an image sharing mode, where images may be transferred betweenprojected displays 48B and 48C.

In particular, when electronic devices operate in an image sharing mode,a communication link may be established between electronic devices 10Band 10C through their respective communication interfaces 28 (FIG. 1).Through the communication link, image data may be transferred betweenelectronic devices 10B and 10C to allow images from one projecteddisplay 48B or 48C to be displayed on the other projected display 48C or48B. For example, a user may transfer image 50 currently shown onprojected display 48B to projected display 48C, as described furtherbelow with respect to FIG. 4. Image data also may be transferred betweenelectronic devices 10B and 10C to allow images from one projecteddisplay 48B or 48C to be displayed on both projected displays 48B and48C. For example, a user may copy image 50 and display a copy of image50 on projected display 48C along with the original image 50 that isshown on projected display 48B, as described further below with respectto FIG. 5. In another example, projected displays 48B and 48C may becombined to produce a unified display where a single image may bedisplayed across both projected displays 48B and 48C, as describedfurther below with respect to FIG. 6.

To share images between projected displays 48B and 48C, a user mayperform one or more gestures on a projected display 48B or 48C. Eachdevice 10B and 10C includes one or more cameras 30B and 30C that may beused to detect gestures performed in front of projected displays 48B and48C. For example, a user may stand adjacent to shared workspace 40 andgesture in front of one or both of projected displays 48B and 48C. Theuser's gesture may cast a shadow on projected display 48B or 48C thatthe respective camera 30B or 30C may detect. In other embodiments,camera 30B or 30C may detect the gesture itself, rather than the shadowof the gesture. Electronic device 10B or 10C may interpret the detectedgesture and may correlate the gesture with an image sharing command. Forexample, electronic device 10B or 10C may compare the detected gesturesto a library of gestures 32 (FIG. 1) stored within electronic device 10Bor 10C.

Image sharing commands may include various types of commands, such ascopy or transfer commands, for sharing an image shown on one projecteddisplay 48B with one or more other projected displays 48C within sharedworkspace 40. Each image sharing command may be represented by adifferent gesture. For example, a user may place a hand or othersuitable object in front of an image 50 and may flick his hand to theright to produce a gesture that electronic device 10B recognizes anduses to transfer image 50 from projected display 48B to projecteddisplays 48C. In another example, a user may hold onto an image with afist and move the fist to the right to produce a gesture that electronicdevice 10B recognizes as a command to copy image 50 and transfer a copyof image 50 to projected display 48C. In this example, image 50 may thenbe displayed on both projected displays 48B and 48C. As may beappreciated, these gestures are provided by way of example only, and arenot intended to be limiting. Any number of various types of gestures maybe associated with different image sharing commands or functionalities.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of a gesture that may be employed to transferimages 50 and 52 between projected displays 48B and 48C. To produce agesture, a user may move an object 54, shown here as a hand, in front ofa projected display 48B. Although object 54 is shown here as a hand, inother embodiments, object 54 may represent a pointing device, or othersuitable object. To produce the gesture, a user may move object 54 froma first position 55 to a second position 56, as generally shown by anarrow 57. Camera 30B of electronic device 10B may detect the gesture onprojected display 48B. In response to detection of the gesture,electronic device 10B may interpret the gesture and perform an imagesharing command associated with the gesture.

As shown in FIG. 4, the gesture may correspond to an image sharingcommand for transferring an image 50 from one projected display 48B toanother projected display 48C. In particular, in response to detectingthe gesture, electronic devices 10B and 10C have moved image 50 fromprojected display 48B to projected display 48C. According to certainembodiments, in response to detecting the gesture, electronic device 10Bmay transmit image data for image 50 to electronic device 10C to enableelectronic device 10C to display image 50 on projected display 48C.After transmitting the image data, electronic device 10B may removeimage 50 from projected display 48B.

After receiving the image data, electronic device 10C may display image50 on projected display 48C through projector 16C. Electronic device 10Calso may reposition images 50 and 52 shown on projected display 48C toensure that there is adequate space for displaying all of the images.Further, in certain embodiments, electronic device 10C may resize images50 and 52 to ensure that the images fit within the display area ofprojected display 48C. In certain embodiments, electronic devices 10 maystore user preferences within storage 24 (FIG. 1) that specify howimages 50 and 52 should be resized and/or repositioned.

According to certain embodiments, electronic devices 10 may interpretthe gesture based on the shape, direction, speed, acceleration, and/ormagnitude of the gesture. Accordingly, a user may vary the shape ofobject 54, the orientation of object 54, the direction of the gesture,the speed of the gesture, the acceleration of the gesture, and/or themagnitude of the gesture to perform different image sharing commands.For example, a user may display an open palm or a closed fist to performgestures for executing other types of image sharing commands, such ascopying images, displaying images on multiple projected displays,displaying an image on a unified space that includes the projecteddisplays, or exchanging images between projected displays, among others.In another example, a user may change the number of fingers that areextended during the gesture. Further, in certain embodiments, gesturesmay be performed with multiple objects 54, such as two hands. Moreover,in certain embodiments, gestures may include a series of separatemotions.

In certain embodiments, gestures also may be used to collect a series ofimages that may be shared between projected displays 48B and 48C. Forexample, a user may perform a gesture, such as a two-finger tap, toselect multiple images and group the multiple images together. A usermay then perform a subsequent gesture that corresponds to an imagesharing command. For example, a user may perform a gesture thatcorresponds to moving an image from one projected display 48B to anotherprojected display 48C as shown in FIG. 4. In response to detecting thegesture, electronic devices 10B and 10C may then perform the imagesharing command for the entire group of selected images. For example,the group of selected images may be moved from one projected display 48Bto another projected display 48C. The grouping of images may allow formass sharing or copying of images between projected displays 48B and48C. Further, in certain embodiments, the grouping of images may allowfor the mass uniform display of multiple images on a unified space thatincludes projected displays 48B and 48C.

FIG. 5 depicts another example of a gesture that may be used to shareimages between projected displays 48B and 48C. In this example, a usermay arrange object 54 into a fist that moves from a first position 58 toa second position 59 as shown by an arrow 60. Camera 30B may detect thegesture, and electronic device 10B may interpret the gesture to retrievean imaging sharing command associated with the detected gesture. Asshown in FIG. 5, the gesture may represent a copy command for producinga copy of an image on another projected display 48C. In particular, inresponse to detecting the gesture, electronic devices 10B and 10C haveproduced a copy 61 of image 50 that is shown on projected display 48C.According to certain embodiments, in response to detecting the gesture,electronic device 10B may transmit image data for image 50 to electronicdevice 10C to enable electronic device 10C to display the copy 61 ofimage 50 on projected display 48C. Rather than removing image 50 fromprojected display 48B, electronic device 10B may continue to displayimage 50 on projected display 48B so that image 50 and copy 61 of image50 are displayed simultaneously.

FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of shared workspace 40 that mayoperate in a unified display mode. In the unified display mode,projected displays 48B and 48C may be combined to produce a unifieddisplay 62 that allows individual images to be displayed across two ormore projected displays 48B and 48C within shared workspace 40. Forexample, in the illustrated embodiment, image 50 is displayed acrossprojected displays 48B and 48C. In other embodiments, unified display 62may include three or more projected displays 48 produced by three ormore electronic devices 10. In these embodiments, images may betransferred and/or shared between any of the projected displays 48included within unified display 62.

The unified display mode may be enabled in response to receiving agesture and/or in response to receiving a user input. In certainembodiments, the shape, direction, acceleration, and/or magnitude of thegesture may determine which projected displays 48B and 48C should becombined to form unified display 62. When the unified display mode isenabled, electronic devices 10B and 10C may adjust projected displays48B and 48C to create unified display 62. For example, in theillustrated embodiment, electronic devices 10B and 10C have extendedprojected displays 48B and 48C towards one another to form a contiguousdisplay without space between projected displays 48B and 48C. Inaddition to minimizing the space between projected displays 48B and 48C,electronic devices 10B and 10C may also minimize or reduce the overlapbetween projected displays 48B and 48C.

The creation of unified display 62 may allow an individual image 50 tobe displayed using both projected displays 48B and 48C. A user mayselect an image 50 to display on unified display 62 using a gestureand/or through a user input on one of electronic devices 10B or 10C. Inresponse to detecting the gesture or user input, electronic devices 10Band 10C may display a portion 63 of image 50 on projected display 48Bwhile another portion 64 of image 50 is displayed on projected display48C. The portions 63 and 64 may be displayed contiguous to one anotherto form the complete image 50.

According to certain embodiments, a user may perform gestures to controlthe display of images 50 on unified display 62. For example, a user mayperform various gestures to enlarge or reduce the size of an image 50,to move an image 50, and/or to rotate an image 50. One or both cameras30B and 30C may detect the gesture and vary the display of image 50 inresponse to detecting the gesture.

In certain embodiments, to facilitate control of unified display 62, oneof the electronic devices 10B may be designated as the master devicewhile the other electronic devices 10C function as slave devices. Anindicator 65 may be displayed on unified display 62 to facilitateidentification of the master electronic device 10B. The masterelectronic device 10B may then be used to control the display of imageson unified display 62. For example, a user may select images to displayon unified display 62 through a GUI of electronic device 10B and/orthrough gestures detected by camera 30B. In certain embodiments, themaster electronic device 10B may provide control signals to the slaveelectronic devices 10C, for example, through communication interfaces 28(FIG. 1), to control the display of images 50 on unified display 62.Further, in certain embodiments, through a GUI of electronic device 10Bor through a gesture, a user may be able to change the electronic device10B or 10C that is designated as the master electronic device.

As described above with respect to FIGS. 4 through 6, the shape,direction, speed, acceleration, and/or magnitude of a gesture may beused by electronic device 10 to identify an image sharing command.Further, in certain embodiments, the shape, direction, speed,acceleration, and/or magnitude of a gesture may be used to determine theprojected display 48 that receives a shared image. Using the shape,direction, speed, acceleration, and/or magnitude of a gesture todetermine a recipient projected display 48 may be particularly importantin systems 38 with three or more connected electronic devices 10 thatproduce three or more projected displays 48.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of system 38 that includes three connectedelectronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C that produce three projecteddisplays 48A, 48B, and 48C within shared workspace 40. In particular,electronic device 10A produces projected display 48A; electronic device10B produces projected display 48B; and electronic device 10C producesprojected display 48C. Images 50 and 52 may be shared across projecteddisplays 48A, 48B, and 48C to produce shared workspace 40. In certainembodiments, images 50 and 52 may be shared between projected displays48A, 48B, and 48C in a discrete image sharing mode where an individualimage is transferred or copied between projected displays 48A, 48B, and48C. Further, in certain embodiments, projected displays 48A, 48B, and48C may be combined to form a unified display that allows for individualimages to be displayed across two or three of the projected displays48A, 48B, and 48C, as described above with respect to FIG. 6. Moreover,in other embodiments, projected displays 48A, 48B, and 48C may bearranged in an omnidirectional orientation with projected displays 48A,48B, and 48C located above and below on another or diagonal with respectto one another in addition to, or instead of, being arranged next to oneanother as shown in FIG. 7.

In addition to determining an image sharing command, the shape,direction, speed, acceleration, and/or magnitude of a gesture maydetermine the projected display 48A, 48B, or 48C that receives a sharedimage. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a user may produce agesture that moves object 54 from a first position 68 to a secondposition 70, as illustrated by arrow 72. The projected display 48B, onwhich the gesture is performed, may generally be referred to as theinitiating projected display 48B. The shape and direction of the gesturein FIG. 7 is similar to the gesture shown in FIG. 4. However, asindicated by arrow 72, which is larger than arrow 57 shown in FIG. 4,the gesture of FIG. 7 is much larger in magnitude than the gesture shownin FIG. 4. Indeed, second position 70, shown in FIG. 7, is disposedalmost completely outside of projected display 48B, while secondposition 56, shown in FIG. 4, is disposed within projected display 48B.The larger magnitude of the gesture shown in FIG. 7 may indicate thatimage 50 should be displayed on the farthest projected display 48A,rather than the adjacent projected display 48C.

According to certain embodiments, the magnitude of a gesture may beincreased to share an image with a projected display 48A that is fartheraway from the initiating projected display 48B, and may be decreased toshare an image with a projected display 48C that is closer to theinitiating projected display 48B. Further, the direction of the gesturemay indicate whether the recipient projected display 48 is located tothe left or to the right of the initiating projected display 48B. Forexample, a gesture to the right may indicate that the recipientprojected display is located to the right of the initiating projecteddisplay 48B, while a gesture to the left may indicate that the recipientprojected display 48 is located to the left of the initiating projecteddisplay 48B.

Further, in certain embodiments, the projected displays 48 may bearranged in a circular interface where gestures to the right and leftmay be used to select projected displays 48 in succession. For example,a gesture to the left may be made on projected display 48B shown in FIG.6. In this embodiment, since there is no projected display 48 to theleft of projected display 48B, the gesture may be used to selectprojected display 48A as the recipient display. In other words,electronic devices 10 may be designed to select the last projecteddisplay 48 in the opposite direction if there is no projected display 48located in the direction specified.

In other embodiments, the shape of a gesture may determine the recipientprojected display 48. For example, the arc of the gesture may be variedto simulate tossing an image to the recipient projected display. The arcof a gesture may be increased to select a recipient projected display 48that is farther away, which may simulate tossing the image over theprojected displays disposed between the initiating projected display andthe recipient projected display. Similarly, the arc of a gesture may bedecreased to select a recipient projected display that is closer to theinitiating projected display. In another example, each of the projecteddisplays 48 within shared workspace 40 may be assigned a differentnumber. A gesture may be made with a number of extended fingerscorresponding to the number of the recipient projected display 48. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 7, projected display 48A may be assigned thenumber two. The gesture may then be made with two extended fingers toshare image 50 with projected display 48A.

According to certain embodiments, position identifiers 74A, 74B, and 74Cmay be employed to determine the relative positions of projecteddisplays 48A, 48B, and 48C and their associated electronic devices 10A,10B, and 10C. Position identifiers 74A, 74B, and 74C may display avisual image, such as a letter, number, picture, barcode, or the like,that identifies the electronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C associated with aprojected display 48A, 48B, or 48C. For example, in addition todisplaying images 50 and 52, each projected display 48A, 48B, and 48Cmay display one or more position identifiers 74A, 74B, 74C that identifythe electronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C associated with that projecteddisplay 48A, 48B, or 48C.

Cameras 30A, 30B, and 30C each may have a wider viewing area than thedisplay area of projected displays 48A, 48B, and 48C. The wider viewingarea may allow cameras 30A, 30B, and 30C to view a portion of, or allof, the neighboring projected display 48A, 48B, or 48C. For example,projected display 48C may include two position identifiers 74C eachlocated in one corner of projected display 48C. Neighboring electronicdevice 10A may view one or more of the position identifiers 74C throughcamera 30A. Electronic device 10A may process the position identifier74C to establish that electronic device 10C is located to the left ofelectronic device 10A.

In another example, electronic device 10C may view position identifiers74B and 74A through camera 30C to establish that electronic device 10Ais located to the right of electronic device 10C and that electronicdevice 10B is located to the left of electronic device 10C. Electronicdevices 10A, 10B, and 10C may communicate with each other throughcommunication interfaces 28 (FIG. 1) to determine the relative positionsof each of the electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. Electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C may then use the relative locations in conjunctionwith the detected gesture to determine which projected display shouldreceive a shared image.

In other embodiments, instead of, or in addition to, using positionidentifiers 74A, 74B, and 74C to determine the relative positions ofelectronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C, the relative positions may bedetermined using positioning devices 34 included within each of theelectronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. As described above with respect toFIG. 1, positioning devices 34 may include global positioning devices,wireless access point triangulation devices, and/or radio frequencytransmitters, among others, that may be used to determine the locationsof electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C to within a few feet or yards.The locations of each electronic device 10A, 10B, and 10C may then becompared to one another to determine the relative positions ofelectronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. Further, in certain embodiments,positioning devices 34 may be employed to detect movement of electronicdevices 10A, 10B, and 10C with respect to one another and to adjust therelative positions of electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C aftermovement of one or more of electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C.

In certain embodiments, a user may enter orientation information thatmay be used in conjunction with positioning devices 34 to determine therelative positions of electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. For example,through a GUI of an electronic device 10 included within workspace 40, auser may specify whether an electronic device 10 is positioned toproject towards the north, south, east, or west. The orientationinformation may allow the electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C todetermine the direction of projection for each device in addition to thegeographic positions.

In addition to displaying position identifiers 74A, 74B, and 74C,projected displays 48A, 48B, and 48C may display image sourceidentifiers 76. Image source identifiers 76 each may be associated witha certain image 50 or 52 to identify the electronic device 10A, 10B, 10Cthat is the source of the image 50 or 52. For example, as shown in FIG.6, image 52 was initially generated through electronic device 10C, andaccordingly, image 52 includes an image identifier 76 that identifieselectronic device 10C. In another example, image 50 was initiallygenerated using electronic device 10B, and accordingly, image 50includes an image identifier 76 that identifies electronic device 10B.Even though image 50 has been transferred to projected display 48A fromprojected display 48B, image 50 still includes image identifier 76,which identifies the source of image 50 as electronic device 10B. Imagesource identifiers 76 may allow the source of an image 50 or 52 to beidentified even after multiple transfers of an image to differentprojected displays 48A, 48B, and 48C.

According to certain embodiments, image identifiers 76 may allow anelectronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C to identify the electronic device10A, 10B, or 10C that stores the image data associated with an image 50or 52. For example, a user may produce a gesture on projected display48A to transfer image 50 from projected display 48A to projected display48C. Upon detecting the gesture, electronic device 10A may view imagesource identifier 76 and, in certain embodiments, may transfer the imagedata for image 50 to electronic device 10C. However, in otherembodiments, electronic device 10A may send a communication toelectronic device 10B through communication interface 28 (FIG. 1) torequest that electronic device 10B, which stores the original image datafor image 50, transmit the image data to electronic device 10C.

Image identifiers 76 also may identify a version of the source fileassociated with an image 50 or 52. For example, after an image has beenshared between projected displays 48A, 48B, and 48C, multiple users maybe able to edit the image. The image identifier 76 may allow a user toidentify which version of the image is currently displayed on theprojected display 48A, 48B, or 48C. Further, as a user edits an image,the image identifier 76 may be updated to reflect the next version.Moreover, in certain embodiments, version information identifying thecurrent version, the changes made, and/or the author of the changes maybe stored by one or more of the electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10Cand/or by an external server. A user may access the version informationthrough one of the electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C to retrieve ahistory of changes and/or to retrieve a previous version of an image.

A user also may employ a GUI of one or more of the electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C to specify the relative positions of electronicdevices 10A, 10B, and 10C. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, electronicdevice 10C may display a screen 78 of the GUI on display 12C. A user mayinteract with the GUI via display 12C, touchscreen 14C, and/or inputdevices 26C to specify the relative positions of electronic devices 10A,10B, and 10C. Further, in certain embodiments, screen 78 may include anindicator that identifies one of the electronic devices 10A, 10B, or 10Cas the master device when a unified display mode is enable as describedabove with respect to FIG. 6. Through the GUI, a user also may be ableto change the electronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C that is specified asthe master device.

According to certain embodiments, screen 78 may include graphicalelements 80, 82, and 84 that represent each of the electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C included within shared workspace 40 (FIG. 6).Graphical elements 80, 82, and 84 may display text, graphics, and/orimages that identify electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. For example,graphical elements 80, 82, and 84 may display a name of the electronicdevice 10, a name of the owner of the electronic device 10, a phonenumber for the electronic device 10, a model number, a serial number, ora virtual representation of the electronic device 10, among others. Asshown, graphical element 80 represents electronic device 10A; graphicalelement 82 represents electronic device 10B; and graphical element 84represents electronic device 10C.

Screen 78 also includes areas 85, 86, and 87 representing the relativepositions of electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10C within a graphicalrepresentation 88 of shared workspace 40. Instructions 89 may prompt auser to drag graphical elements 80, 82, and 84 to the relative positionsdefined by areas 85, 86, and 87. For example, as shown in FIG. 7,electronic device 10B is located in the leftmost position; andaccordingly, a user has moved graphical element 82 to area 85, whichrepresents the leftmost position. In other embodiments, instead of, orin addition to, moving graphical elements 80, 82, and 84, a user mayenter the relative location using another input device 26C includedwithin electronic device 10. For example, a user may select one of theareas 85, 86, or 87 to display a virtual keyboard that may be used toenter text identifying the electronic device 10 positioned in thelocation corresponding to that area 85, 86, or 87. In another example, amouse, touchpad, or keyboard may be employed to assign the relativepositions to electronic devise 10A, 10B, and 10C.

As shown in FIG. 9, a user also may employ a GUI to select images todisplay on projected displays 48 (FIG. 7). Through the GUI, a user mayaccess images from any of the electronic devices 10A, 10B, and 10Cincluded within shared workspace 40. For example, electronic device 10Cmay display a screen 90 with virtual folders 91, 92, and 93 that may beselected to retrieve images stored on corresponding electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C. Instructions 94 may prompt a user to select imagesfor display using virtual folders 91, 92, and 93.

In response to selection of a virtual folder 91, 92, or 93, electronicdevice 10C may display image representations, such as icons, file names,or the like, that represent images stored on the correspondingelectronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C. The image representations may beselected to choose the corresponding image for display on projecteddisplays 48. According to certain embodiments, electronic device 10C mayaccess the images stored on another electronic device 10A or 10B throughcommunication interface 28 (FIG. 1). Once an image is selected,electronic device 10C may then display the selected image on thecorresponding projected display 48C (FIG. 7). Further, in certainembodiments, a user may select the image representations to move imagesstored on one electronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C to another electronicdevice 10A, 10B, or 10C. For example, a user may drag an imagerepresentation to a virtual folder 91, 92, or 93 to move or copy thecorresponding image to the electronic device 10A, 10B, or 10C associatedwith that virtual folder 91, 92, or 93.

In other embodiments, instead of, or in addition to, virtual folders 91,92, and 93, other types of file retrieval features, such as filedirectories, search features, or navigation systems, may be employed toselect images to display on projected displays 48. For example, incertain embodiments, icons representing each of the electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C may be displayed on screen 90. In another example,screen 90 may be divided into separate areas each corresponding to anelectronic device 10A, 10B, and 10C. Image representations may then bedisplayed within the corresponding area of screen 90. For example, imagerepresentations for images stored on electronic device 10A may bedisplayed within one area while image representations for images storedon electronic device 10B may be displayed within another area. Further,in other embodiments, image representations may be displayed for imagesthat are stored on an external device, such as a server.

A user also may employ a GUI to share or move images between projecteddisplays 48 (FIG. 7). The GUI may be employed to select image sharingcommands instead of, or in addition to, performing gestures in front ofprojected display 48 as described above with respect to FIGS. 4 through7. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, electronic device 10C may display ascreen 96 that shows an image 98 that may be shared between projecteddisplays 48 (FIG. 7).

Screen 96 also includes graphical elements 100, 102, and 104 thatrepresent electronic devices 10B, 10C, and 10A included within sharedworkspace 40. Graphical elements 100, 102, and 104 may display text,graphics, and/or images that identify electronic devices 10A, 10B, and10C. As shown, graphical element 100 represents electronic device 10B;graphical element 102 represents electronic device 10C; and graphicalelement 104 represents electronic device 10A. According to certainembodiments, graphical elements 100, 102, and 104 may be positioned onscreen 96 in an order that corresponds to the relative positions of theelectronic devices 10. However, in other embodiments, graphical elements100, 102, and 104 may be shown in locations independent of the actualpositions of electronic devices 10.

Screen 96 also includes instructions 106 that prompt a user to dragimage 98 to a recipient electronic device 10 for display on theprojected display 48 produced by the recipient electronic device 10. Forexample, a user may drag image 98 to graphical element 100 to show image98 on projected display 48B. As shown in FIG. 10, a user may interactwith the GUI through touchscreen 14C. However, in other embodiments,other input devices 26, such as a keyboard, touchpad, or the like, maybe employed to interact with the GUI. In response to receiving the userinput through touchscreen 14, electronic device 10C may transmit imagedata for image 98 to the selected recipient electronic device 10. Therecipient electronic device 10 may then display image 98 on itsprojected display 48.

Further, in certain embodiments, instead of, or in addition to,displaying an image 98 on screen 96, a file retrieval feature, such as atable of contents, file directory, and/or a search feature, may bedisplayed that allows a user to access images available for sharing. Asdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 3, the images may representphotographs, pictures, graphical representations, application files,audio files, sound files, or the like. The file retrieval feature may beshown on display 12 to allow a user to select images for sharing throughtouchscreen 14 or input devices 26. Moreover, in certain embodiments,the file retrieval feature may be shown on projected display 48 to allowa user to select images for sharing using gestures.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, components of the GUI also may be displayedon projected displays 48 to facilitate performance of gestures forsharing images within a shared workspace. For example, as shown in FIG.11, a graphical representation 108 of shared workspace 40 may be shownon projected display 48B. In particular, projector 16B (FIG. 7) mayproject graphical representation 108 onto projected display 48B.Graphical representation 108 includes virtual bins 110, 112, and 114,each corresponding to one of the projected displays 48 within sharedworkspace 40. As shown, virtual bin 110 represents projected display48B; virtual bin 112 represents projected display 48C; and virtual bin114 represents projected display 48A. Although graphical representation108 is shown at the bottom of projected display 48B, in otherembodiments, graphical representation 108 may be shown in otherlocations, such as the top and/or sides of projected display 48B.

To share an image with another projected display 48, a user may performa gesture that moves an image to a virtual bin 110, 112, or 114 shownwithin graphical representation 108. For example, a user may perform agesture that moves image 98 to virtual bin 112 to display image 98 onprojected display 48C (FIG. 7). In particular, in the illustratedembodiment, a user has moved object 54 from a first position 116proximate to image 98 to an ending position 118 proximate to virtual bin112, as generally indicated by an arrow 120. The ending position 118 ofthe gesture may determine which recipient projected display 48 receivesthe shared image. For example, because ending position 118 is proximateto virtual bin 112, which corresponds to projected display 48C,projected display 48C may be the recipient projected display. Camera 30B(FIG. 7) may detect the gesture, and electronic device 10B may transmitimage data for image 98 to electronic device 10C to enable display ofimage 98 on projected display 48C.

According to certain embodiments, the shape of object 54 may determinethe image sharing command to be performed. For example, as shown, object54 represents a hand with one finger extended, which may correspond to acommand that moves image 98 from one projected display 48 to anotherprojected display 48. The shape of object 54 may be varied to performother image sharing commands. For example, in certain embodiments,object 54 may be made into a fist to perform an image sharing commandthat copies image 98 from one projected display 48 to another projecteddisplay 48.

FIG. 12 depicts another embodiment where part of the GUI may beprojected onto the projected display 48 to facilitate performance ofgestures for sharing images within a shared workspace. As shown in FIG.12, a legend 122 is shown on projected display 48B to identify gesturedirections 124, 126, 128, and 130 that correspond to projected displays48. Labels 132 identify the projected display 48 that corresponds toeach gesture direction 124, 126, 128, and 130. For example, in theillustrated embodiment, up direction 124 corresponds to projecteddisplay 48A (FIG. 7); right direction 126 corresponds to projecteddisplay 48B; and down direction 128 corresponds to projected display 48C(FIG. 7). Because only three projected displays 48 are included withinshared workspace 40 (FIG. 7), a projected display is not associated withleft direction 130. However, in other embodiments where shared workspace40 includes four or more projected displays, left direction 130 maycorrespond to a projected display. Further, in other embodiments, anynumber of directions 124, 126, 128, and 130 may be included withinlegend 122. For example, according to certain embodiments, eightdifferent directions, such as up, down, right, left, diagonal to theupper right corner, diagonal to the lower right corner, diagonal to theupper left corner, and diagonal to the lower left corner, may be shownwithin legend 122.

To share an image with another projected display 48, a user may performa gesture in a direction 124, 126, 128, or 130 that corresponds to therecipient projected display. For example, in the illustrated embodiment,a user has moved object 54 in the down direction 128 from a firstposition 134 proximate to a second position 136, as generally indicatedby an arrow 138. The gesture in the down direction 128 may identifyprojected display 48C as the recipient projected display. Camera 30B(FIG. 7) may detect the gesture, and electronic device 10B may transmitimage data for image 98 to electronic device 10C to enable display ofimage 98 on projected display 48C (FIG. 7).

The direction of the gesture may identify the recipient projecteddisplay while the shape of the gesture may identify the image sharingcommand. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, object 54 represents a handwith one finger extended, which may correspond to an image sharingcommand to move an image from one projected display 48 to anotherprojected display 48. The shape of object 54 may be varied to identifydifferent image sharing commands. For example, an open palm may be usedto exchange images between two projected displays. Further, in otherembodiments, the speed and/or trajectory of the gesture may be varied toidentify different image sharing commands. For example, a gestureperformed in a straight line may represent an image sharing command thatmoves an image while a gesture performed in an arc represents an imagesharing command that copies an image.

As described above with respect to FIGS. 3 through 12, gestures and/orGUIs may be employed to share images 50, 52, and 98 between projecteddisplays 48 within a shared workspace 40. Electronic devices 10 within ashared workspace 40 may be connected to one another over a communicationlink that allows electronic devices 10 to share image data used toproject images 50, 52, and 98 on projected displays 48 within sharedworkspace 40. One or more of the electronic devices 10 within sharedworkspace 40 may include an application for interpreting and executingthe image sharing commands received as gestures and/or through the GUIs.According to certain embodiments, the application may be encoded onstorage 24 of electronic devices 10 and may allow electronic devices 10to perform one or methods for performing image sharing as describedbelow with respect to FIGS. 13 through 15. Further, in certainembodiments, the application may facilitation programming and/orcustomization of gestures for image sharing commands.

FIG. 13 depicts a method 148 for sharing images between electronicdevices 10 to produce a shared workspace 40 (FIG. 7). Method 148 maybegin by establishing (blocks 150 and 152) a communication link betweentwo or more electronic devices, such as electronic devices 10B and 10C,that form shared workspace 40. According to certain embodiments, acommunication link between electronic devices 10B and 10C may beestablished by joining a common network, such as a LAN, PAN, or WAN. Forexample, each device 10B and 10C may connect to a common network throughits communication interface 28 (FIG. 1).

Further, in certain embodiments, close range communication may be usedto establish a communication link between electronic devices 10B and10C. For example, communication interface 28 of each electronic device10B and 10C may include a close range communication interface, such as anear field communication interface or a Bluetooth® communicationinterface. Electronic devices 10B and 10C may connect to one anotherover the close range communication interface and may then eithertransfer image data over the close range communication link or mayexchange connection data 154, such as an SSID, channel identifier, andan encryption key, over the close range communication link to establisha longer range communication link, such as a network connection.

Connection data 154 also may include other information used to establisha communication link between electronic devices 10B and 10C. Forexample, in certain embodiments, connection data 154 may includeidentification information broadcast using Internet protocol (IP) oranother device identification protocol, such as Bonjour®. Electronicdevices 10B and 10C may use the connection data 154 to establish anetwork connection, such as a PAN, LAN, or WAN connection betweenelectronic devices 10B and 10C.

Connection data 154 further may include location information forelectronic devices 10B and 10C. For example, electronic devices 10B and10C may determine their locations through positioning devices 34included within electronic devices 10B and 10C. In another example,electronic devices 10B and 10C may determine their locations usingposition identifiers 74 viewed through cameras 30B and 30C, as shown inFIG. 7. Electronic devices 10B and 10C may exchange location informationand use the location information to determine (block 156) their relativepositions, which may facilitate interpretation of image sharingcommands.

Once a communication link has been established, electronic device 10Bmay enable (block 158) an image sharing mode. According to certainembodiments, electronic device 10B may enable an image sharing mode inresponse to establishment of a communication link. In other embodiments,electronic device 10B may enable an image sharing mode in response toreceiving a user input. For example, a user may toggle one of the userinput devices 26 (FIG. 1) included within electronic device 10B toenable an image sharing mode. In another example, a user may select agraphical element through touchscreen 14B (FIG. 1) of electronic device10B to initiate an image sharing mode.

In certain embodiments, a user also may select the type of image sharingmode. For example, a user may select a discrete image sharing mode whereimages may be transferred or copied between projected displays 48, asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, or a user may select aunified display mode where multiple projected displays 48 may beemployed to display individual images on a unified display, as describedabove with respect to FIG. 6. In another example, a user may turn on aversion control feature that allows version information for the sharedimages to be maintained. Further, in certain embodiments, a user mayenable display of a file retrieval feature, such as a table of contents,on display 12 and/or on a projected display, that facilitates userselection of images to be shared.

In another embodiment, electronic device 10B may detect an enablementgesture through camera 30B (FIG. 1). For example, one or more storedgestures 32 (FIG. 1) may correspond to an enablement gesture forenabling the image sharing mode. A user may perform one of theseenablement gestures in front of projected display 48B, and theenablement gesture may be detected by camera 30B. Processor 22 (FIG. 1)may then interpret the detected gesture, for example, by comparing thedetected gesture to a library of gestures 32 (FIG. 1). After determiningthat the gesture corresponds to an enablement gesture, processor 22 mayenable (block 158) the image sharing mode.

Once the image sharing mode is enabled, electronic device 10B may adjust(block 159) the shared workspace 40. For example, electronic device 10Bmay determine whether a unified display mode or a discrete image sharingmode has been enabled. If a unified display mode has been enabled,electronic device 10B may adjust the projected displays 48 of sharedworkspace 40 to form a unified display. For example, electronic device10B may communicate with the other electronic devices 10 included withinthe shared workspace to move each of projected displays 48 towards oneanother to reduce spaces between projected displays 48, as shown in FIG.6. Further, in certain embodiments, electronic device 10B maycommunicate with the other electronic devices 10 to minimize overlap ofprojected displays 48. The overlap adjustment may be performed for botha unified display mode and for a discrete image sharing mode. In certainembodiments, electronic device 10B may determine that no adjustmentshould be performed.

Electronic device 10B may then detect (block 160) user gestures thatcorrespond to image sharing commands. For example, camera 30B (FIG. 6)within electronic device 10B may detect shadows and/or silhouettescreated by a user on projected display 48B (FIG. 7). In another example,camera 30B may detect the object itself that performs the gesture.Camera 30B may detect the shape, magnitude, speed, acceleration, and/ordirection of the gestures shown on projected display 48B. According tocertain embodiments, camera 30B may detect the gestures usinginstructions encoded within storage 24 (FIG. 1).

Processor 22 may then interpret (block 162) the gestures detected bycamera 30B. For example, processor 22 may use gesture interpretationsoftware included within storage 24 to associate the detected gesturewith an image sharing command. According to certain embodiments,processor 22 may compare the detected gestures to a library of gestures32 stored within storage 24. Further, processor 22 may use lookuptables, algorithms, or the like to determine the image sharing commandassociated with each detected gesture. Processor 22 also may interpret(block 162) the gestures to identify the image that corresponds to thegesture. For example, processor 22 may use gesture data from camera 30Bto identify the image that is located behind the shadow of the gestureproduced on projected display 48B. The identified image may be the imagethat is shared with another projected display 48 during execution of theimage sharing command.

After interpreting (block 162) the gesture, electronic device 10B maydetermine (block 164) the recipient electronic device 10 that mayreceive the shared image. When only two electronic devices 10B and 10Care included within shared workspace 40, processor 22 may determinewhich electronic device 10B detected the gesture and select the otherelectronic device 10C as the recipient electronic device 10. Further,processor 22 may use the magnitude, speed, acceleration, and/ordirection of the detected gesture to determine the recipient electronicdevice 10.

When three or more electronic devices 10 are included within sharedworkspace 40, processor 22 may determine the recipient electronic device10 based on the shape, magnitude, speed, acceleration, and/or directionof the detected gesture and the relative positions of electronic devices10. For example, as shown and described above with respect to FIG. 7,processor 22 may utilize the magnitude of the gesture to determine therecipient electronic device 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the magnitude of thegesture may indicate the relative distance that the recipient electronicdevice 10 is located from the initiating electronic device 10B. Forexample, a longer gesture may identify a recipient electronic device 10that is farther away from the initiating electronic device 10B, while ashorter gesture may identify a recipient electronic device 10 that iscloser to the initiating electronic device 10B.

In another example, the direction of the gesture may indicate the sideof the initiating electronic device 10B on which the recipientelectronic device 10 is located. For example, a gesture to the right mayindicate that the recipient electronic device 10 is located to the rightof the initiating electronic device 10B, while a gesture to the left mayindicate that the recipient electronic device 10 is located to the leftof the initiating electronic device 10B.

After determining (block 164) the recipient electronic device 10C,electronic device 10B may then share (block 166) the image with therecipient electronic device 10C. For example, electronic device 10B maytransfer image data 168 to recipient electronic device 10C. Image data168 may include data, such as an image file, that allows recipientelectronic device 10C to display the shared image. Further, in certainembodiments, image data 168 may include an image identifier and/or animage source identifier that allows recipient electronic device 10C toretrieve the image from a server and/or a database over a networkconnection.

In response to receiving image data 168, recipient electronic device 10Cmay adjust (block 170) its projected display 48C (FIG. 7). For example,electronic device 10C may adjust the relative sizes and/or positions ofthe images shown on projected display 48C to allow the shared image tobe displayed along with the currently displayed images.

Electronic device 10B also may adjust (block 171) its projected display48B (FIG. 7). For example, if the image sharing command specifies thatan image should be transferred from projected display 48B to projecteddisplay 48C, electronic device 10B may remove the image from itsprojected display 48B. In another example, if the image sharing commandspecifies that images should be exchanged between projected displays 48Band 48C, electronic device 10B may display an image received fromelectronic device 10C on it projected display 48B. For certain imagesharing commands, a display adjustment may not be performed by theinitiating electronic device 10B. For example, if the image sharingcommand specifies that an image should be copied to projected display48C, electronic device 10B may continue to display the image withoutadjusting its projected display 48B. In another example, if the imagesharing command specifies that two projected displays 48B and 48C shouldbe used to show an image on a unified space, electronic device 10B mayadjust its projected display 48B to show only a portion of the image.

Recipient electronic device 10C may then display (block 172) the image.For example, recipient electronic device 10C may use projector 16C todisplay the image on projected display 48C. Further, when a unifieddisplay mode is enabled, recipient electronic device 10C may display aportion of the image on projected display 48C while the remainder of theimage is displayed on projected display 48B, as shown in FIG. 6. Incertain embodiments the adjustments (blocks 170 and 171) to theprojected displays 48C and 48B may be performed simultaneously with orjust prior to display (block 172) of the image.

FIG. 14 depicts another embodiment of a system 176 for sharing images.Rather than being connected directly to one another, electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C may be connected to each other through a server 178.Server 178 may be connected to a database 180 that contains images thatmay be displayed on shared workspace 40 (FIG. 7). Electronic devices10A, 10B, and 10C may be connected to server 178 through communicationinterfaces 28 (FIG. 1) included within each electronic device 10A, 10B,and 10C. The connection may include a close range communication linkand/or a long range communication link, such as a LAN communicationlink. Further, in certain embodiments, electronic devices 10A, 10B, and10C may be connected to server 178 over the Internet. Server 178 maymaintain the shared database 180 of images and/or files that may beshared within shared workspace 40. For example, as changes are made toimages within shared workspace 40, server 178 may store updated versionsof the images and/or files. Further, in certain embodiments, server 178may maintain version control information for the images and/or filesincluded within database 180.

FIG. 15 depicts a method 182 that may be employed to share imagesbetween electronic devices 10 connected through server 178, as shown inFIG. 14. Method 182 may begin by establishing (blocks 184 and 186) aconnection between an electronic device, such as electronic device 10B,and server 178. As may be appreciated, although only one electronicdevice 10B is shown as connected to server 178, in other embodiments,any number of electronic devices 10 may be connect to server 178 toperform method 182.

Connection data 188 may be exchanged between electronic device 10B andserver 178 to establish the connection. For example, device identifierinformation and/or protocol information may be exchanged to connectelectronic device 10B to server 178 through a network connection, suchas a WAN, LAN, or PAN connection, among others. Connection data 188 alsomay include location information for electronic device 10B. For example,electronic device 10B may obtain location information throughpositioning device 34 included within electronic device 10B. In anotherexample, electronic device 10B may obtain location information byviewing position identifiers 74 through camera 30B, as described abovewith respect to FIG. 6. Electronic device 10B may include the locationinformation in the connection data 188 provided to server 178. Server178 may then use the location information to determine (block 190)relative locations of the connected electronic devices 10. For example,server 178 may compare the locations of each electronic device 10connected to server 178 to determine the relative positions of theelectronic devices 10.

After establishing (block 184) a connection to server 178, electronicdevice 10B may enable (block 192) an image sharing mode. For example,electronic device 10B may receive a user input that enables the imagesharing mode, such as selection of a graphical element through a GUI ofelectronic device 10B. In another example, electronic device 10B maydetect a gesture on projected display 48B (FIG. 7) that is assigned toenable the image sharing mode.

Once the image sharing mode is enabled, electronic device 10B may detect(block 194) user gestures that correspond to image sharing commands. Forexample, electronic device 10B may detect a gesture on projected display48B through camera 30B and may capture the detected gesture as gesturedata 196. Electronic device 10B may then transmit gesture data 196 toserver 178 to interpret (block 198) the gesture. According to certainembodiments, database 180 (FIG. 14) may include a library of gestures.Server 178 may compare gesture data 196 to the library of gestures todetermine the image sharing command corresponding to the detectedgesture. Further, server 178 may employ algorithms, lookup tables, orthe like, to determine the image sharing command that corresponds to thedetected gesture.

Gesture data 196 also may be employed by server 178 to determine (block200) the recipient electronic device. According to certain embodiments,gesture data 196 may include the magnitude and/or direction of thegesture, which server 178 may use, in conjunction with the relativepositions of electronic devices 10, to determine the recipient device.For example, server 178 may interpret a larger magnitude gesture toidentify a recipient electronic device that is farther away from theinitiating electronic device 10B, while a smaller magnitude gesture mayidentify a recipient electronic device that is closer to the initiatingelectronic device 10B. Further, server 178 may use the direction of agesture to determine the side of the initiating electronic device 10B onwhich the recipient electronic device 10 is located.

To execute the image sharing command, electronic device 10B may identify(block 202) the image to be shared with the recipient electronic device10. For example, processor 22 (FIG. 1) of electronic device 10B mayinterpret the detected gesture to determine the image on projecteddisplay 48B to which the gesture corresponds. According to certainembodiments, processor 22 may use gesture data 196 to determine theimage that is behind the shadow created by the gesture on projecteddisplay 48B. Further, in certain embodiments, processor 22 may usegesture data 196 to select a file through a file retrieval feature, suchas a table of contents, shown on projected display 48B. In certainembodiments, the file retrieval feature may be employed to retrievefiles directly from database 180 for display on shared workspace 40(FIG. 7) and/or to transfer files from shared workspace 40 to database180.

Electronic device 10B may then retrieve image data 204 for theidentified image and may transmit image data 204 to server 178.According to certain embodiments, image data 204 may include an imageidentifier that allows server 178 to retrieve the identified image fromdatabase 180. Further, in certain embodiments, if the image is notstored within database 180, image data 204 may include data, such as theimage source file, for reproducing the identified image.

After receive image data 204, server 178 may then share (block 206) theimage with the recipient electronic device. For example, according tocertain embodiments, server 178 may retrieve the image source file fromdatabase 180 (FIG. 14) and transmit the image source file to therecipient electronic device. The recipient electronic device may use theimage source file to display the image on its projected display 48. Inother embodiments, server 178 may transmit an image identifier thatidentifies the location of the identified image within database 180 tothe recipient electronic device. The recipient electronic device maythen use the image identifier to retrieve and display the identifiedimage on its projected display. Further, in certain embodiments, server178 may store the image within database 180 for future use. For example,in certain embodiments, a user may modify an image shown on projecteddisplay 48B. The user may then perform a gesture that transfers theimage to server 178 for storage within database 180.

As may be appreciated, although the methods 148 and 182 described hereinare depicted in the context to two electronic devices 10, the methodsmay be performed with any number of electronic devices 10 connected toproduce a shared workspace 40. Further, electronic device 10 and/orserver 178 may perform steps within the methods simultaneously or insuccession with each other and/or with the other method steps. Moreover,the GUIs described herein that may be used to perform the methods areprovided by way of example only, and are not intended to be limiting. Inother embodiments, the layouts of the interfaces, the relative shapesand sizes and types of graphical elements and the types of input devices26 may vary.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a projectorconfigured to produce a first projected display that is projected onto aprojection surface, wherein the first projected display shows an image;one or more cameras configured to capture a user gesture made in frontof the projection surface, a shadow of the user gesture on theprojection surface, or both, made with respect to the first projecteddisplay, wherein the user gesture is associated with sharing the image;a communication interface configured to enable communication with asecond electronic device configured to produce a second projecteddisplay; and a processor operably coupled to the communicationinterface, the projector, and the one or more cameras, and configured toidentify the image shown on the first projected display based on theuser gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both, and to transmitdata associated with the image to the second electronic device throughthe communication interface to form a shared workspace comprising thefirst projected display and the second projected display.
 2. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured tointerpret the user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both toidentify the second electronic device.
 3. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the processor is configured to interpret the user gesture,the shadow of the user gesture, or both to identify the image.
 4. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the data comprises a source filefor the image or a source file location identifier for the image.
 5. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the data comprises version controlinformation for the image.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe processor is configured to compare the user gesture, the shadow ofthe user gesture, or both to a library of user gestures to determine animage sharing command associated with the user gesture, the shadow ofthe user gesture, or both, and wherein transmitting the data comprisesexecuting the image sharing command.
 7. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the data enables the second electronic device to display theimage on the second projected display.
 8. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the shared workspace comprises the first projected displayand the second projected display projected onto the projection surfaceas a unified space.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theuser gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both, comprises animage sharing command.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theshadow of the user gesture comprises a shadow cast in the firstprojected display on the projected surface.
 11. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, orboth, comprises a movement made across the first projected display. 12.A method executed by a processor of a first electronic device,comprising: producing a first projected display that is projected onto aprojection surface using the first electronic device; establishing acommunication link with a second electronic device that produces asecond projected display that is also projected onto the projectionsurface; detecting a user gesture made in front of the projectionsurface, a shadow of the user gesture on the first projected display onthe projection surface, or both, made with respect to the firstprojected display through a camera of the first electronic device thatis aimed at the projection surface; and communicating image data betweenthe first electronic device and the second electronic device based onthe user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both to form ashared workspace comprising the first projected display and the secondprojected display.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising displaying animage represented by the image data on the first projected display andon the second projected display.
 14. The method of claim 12, comprisinginterpreting the user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or bothto determine an image sharing command associated with the gesture,wherein communicating the image data executes the image sharing command.15. The method of claim 12, comprising interpreting the user gesture,the shadow of the user gesture, or both to determine an identity of thesecond electronic device.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the usergesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both is interpreted based ona magnitude and/or a direction of the user gesture, the shadow of theuser gesture, or both.
 17. The method of claim 12, comprising detectingan image sharing enablement user gesture, a shadow of the image sharingenablement user gesture, or both, through the camera and enabling animaging sharing mode between the first electronic device and the secondelectronic device based on the enablement user gesture, the shadow ofthe image sharing enablement user gesture, or both.
 18. The method ofclaim 12, comprising receiving position information for the secondelectronic device and determining relative positions of the firstelectronic device and the second electronic device based on the positioninformation.
 19. The method of claim 12, comprising identifying theimage data based on the user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, orboth made with respect to the first projected display when the usergesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both are made with respectto an image shown on the first projected display.
 20. A first electronicdevice, comprising: a projector configured to produce a first projecteddisplay that is projected onto a projection surface; a camera pointed atthe projection surface and configured to capture a user gesture made infront of the projection surface, a shadow of the user gesture in thefirst projected display on the projection surface, or both, made withrespect to the first projected display; a communication interfaceconfigured to enable communication with one or more other electronicdevices, each configured to produce another projected display onto theprojection surface; and a processor operably coupled to thecommunication interface, the projector, and the camera, and configuredto identify an image shown on the first projected display based on theuser gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both, to determine arecipient electronic device of the one or more other electronic devicesbased on the user gesture, the shadow of the user gesture, or both, andto transmit data associated with the image to the recipient electronicdevice through the communication interface to enable the recipientelectronic device to display the image on a respective other projecteddisplay generated by the recipient electronic device.
 21. The firstelectronic device of claim 20, wherein the camera comprises a viewingarea wider than a display angle of the projector.
 22. The firstelectronic device of claim 20, wherein the camera is configured todetect an electronic device identifier shown on a neighboring projecteddisplay of at least one of the another projected displays, and whereinthe processor is configured to determine positions of the one or moreother electronic devices with respect to the first electronic devicebased at least in part on the electronic device identifier.
 23. Thefirst electronic device of claim 20, comprising a positioning deviceconfigured to determine a location of the first electronic device,wherein the processor is configured to determine the recipientelectronic device based at least in part on the location.
 24. The firstelectronic device of claim 20, wherein the camera is configured todetect a magnitude and/or a direction of the user gesture, the shadow ofthe user gesture, or both, and wherein the processor is configured todetermine the recipient electronic device based on the magnitude and/orthe direction.
 25. The first electronic device of claim 20, comprising auser interface configured to enable user selection of positions of theone or more other electronic devices with respect to the electronicdevice, wherein the processor is configured to determine the recipientdevice based on the relative positions.
 26. A manufacture, comprising:one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediahaving application instructions encoded thereon for execution by aprocessor, the application instructions comprising instructions to:interpret a user gesture, a shadow of the user gesture, or both, madewith respect to a first projected display that is projected on aprojection surface to determine an image sharing command; determine arecipient electronic device projecting a second projected display on theprojection surface based at least in part on the user gesture, theshadow of the user gesture, or both; and transmit image data to therecipient electronic device to execute the image sharing command,wherein the first projected display and the second projected displaythereby form a shared workspace.
 27. The manufacture of claim 26,wherein the application instructions include instructions fordetermining a position of the recipient electronic device.
 28. Themanufacture of claim 26, wherein the application instructions includeinstructions for identifying image data based on the user gesture, theshadow of the user gesture, or both.
 29. The manufacture of claim 26,wherein the application instructions include instructions for enablingan image sharing mode based on interpretation of an additional usergesture, a shadow of the additional user gesture, or both.
 30. A firstelectronic device, comprising: one or more cameras aimed at a projectionsurface and configured to detect an image sharing command gesture madein front of the projection surface, a shadow of the image sharingcommand gesture, or both, made with respect to a first projecteddisplay, wherein the first projected display is projected on theprojection surface; a communication interface configured to enablecommunication with a second electronic device configured to produce asecond projected display that is also projected on the projectionsurface or an adjacent projection surface; and a processor operablycoupled to the communication interface and the one or more cameras, andconfigured to identify an image shown on the first projected displaybased at least in part on the image sharing command gesture, the shadowof the image sharing command gesture, or both, and to transmit dataassociated with the image to the second electronic device through thecommunication interface to enable the second electronic device todisplay the image on the second projected display.
 31. The firstelectronic device of claim 30, wherein the image sharing commandgesture, the shadow of the image sharing command gesture, or both,comprise a movement made across the first projected display.
 32. Thefirst electronic device of claim 30, wherein the processor is configuredto interpret the image sharing command gesture, the shadow of the imagesharing command gesture, or both, to determine an identity of the secondelectronic device.
 33. The first electronic device of claim 30, whereinthe communication interface comprises a near field communicationinterface configured to receive information identifying the secondelectronic device.
 34. A first electronic device, comprising: aninput/output port configured to enable connection of the firstelectronic device to a projector configured to produce a first projecteddisplay that is projected onto a projection surface; a communicationinterface configured to enable communication with a second electronicdevice configured to produce a second projected display, wherein thesecond projected display is also projected onto the projection surfaceand forms a shared workspace with the first projected display; and aprocessor operably coupled to the communication interface, andconfigured to receive image data from the second electronic device,wherein the image data is identified based on an image sharing commandgesture performed in front of on the second projected display, a shadowof the image sharing command on the projection surface, or both, andconfigured to enable display of an image represented by the image dataon the first projected display.
 35. The first electronic device of claim34, wherein the processor is configured to adjust a size of anotherimage shown on the first projected display to enable display of theimage represented by the image data.
 36. The first electronic device ofclaim 34, wherein the processor is configured to adjust a position ofanother image shown on the first projected display to enable display ofthe image represented by the image data.
 37. The first electronic deviceof claim 34, comprising one or more cameras pointed toward theprojection surface and configured to detect an image sharing commandgesture performed in front of the first projected display, a shadow ofthe image sharing command gesture performed in front of the firstprojected display, or both.